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She’s a pretty blond, with curly hair and a perky smile now that I’ve invited her into my veterinary van.

“I’m Taylor,” she says around a bite of one of the nutrition bars I brought with me. “We look a lot alike.”

“Lumina,” I say as I inspect her more closely. Her hair is a few shades lighter than mine, but we both have heads full of natural curls. We have the same heart-shaped face and blue eyes.

“From a distance, yeah. What are you doing out in the middle of nowhere dressed like that?”

She’s in a feminine pink dress that goes great with her coloring. It’s not exactly what you’d expect to see on a rarely traveled road at eight in the evening.

“A mixer at the Newcomer facility.”

I would expect to see a wide smile across her face, but she doesn’t seem excited.

“You should act like you won the lottery. Why don’t I see that on your face?” If it had been me a week ago on my way to a mixer, I wouldn’t have needed a hover, I would have flown there on my own power.

“I’ve been to three of them already. It’s a long drive there and back and so far, no one has sparked my interest. Well, and I haven’t been any of their first choices either. Rejection isn’t any fun.”

“I’m shocked. You’re so pretty. I can’t imagine any male passing you up.”

She laughs, “Of course you think I’m pretty, we could be sisters.”

As she munches on her second bar she asks, “What are you doing out here in your sexy veterinarian van?” She smiles as she lifts one eyebrow in question.

“I’d tell you, but I’d have to kill you,” I laugh as I hedge.

“Very funny. With a dodge like that, now I’m dying to know.”

“Do you work in law enforcement?” I ask, knowing I sound like someone in one of the police procedurals I like to watch.

“No.” She drags her answer into several syllables, her interest obviously piqued.

I decide to tell her everything. It’s been a wild ride emotionally and physically and I haven’t even told my best friend or my mom. It will be nice to unload to someone.

Ten minutes later, after word-vomiting out all my pain and anxiety to Taylor, I wipe my eyes and take a deep breath.

“This is so freaking romantic you’ve got me squirming in my seat.

Listen, I’ve got it all worked out, but we have to work fast—the mech I called should be here soon.

You’re going to attend the mixer as me. I’ll give you the invitation.

I’ll even let you wear my dress. I think it will fit.

You can’t go in the t-shirt and jeans you’re wearing. ”

I imagine the torn, grass-stained clothes I was wearing earlier would have mortified her.

“I think you might be correct. In the right light we could pass for sisters, but don’t they ask for identification?”

She heaves a sigh, then uses a conspiratorial tone to tell me, “I grew up the daughter of a rancher who was the daughter of a rancher. We live out in the middle of nowhere. Mostly it’s a good life—fresh air, plenty to do—but it gets boring.

“In secondary school, I made my way to the part of Beautiful View nobody talks about. I procured a black market identity bracelet. It got me into some . . . interesting parties and allowed me to get alcohol and drugs. I’m a different person than I was then, but I never destroyed the bracelet.

It even has almost a thousand credits on it, as I recall. ”

I’m not surprised to hear this. Almost everyone has gotten a false ID at some point in their teens.

“Strip,” she says as she pulls off her dress. “As soon as I’m in your clothes I’ll run to my car and get the ident bracelet.”

“Don’t you want to go to the mixer?”

“After the last three rejections, I wasn’t looking forward to it. It won’t hurt my place in line for a mate, I’ll just go to the next one. Besides, it’s so exciting to be able to help you break your Draalian out of there.”

Break him out? My mind never got past the idea of breaking myself in. But, yeah, I think I’m going to break him out of there. And then what? We’ll be like Bonnie and Clyde, hiding out for the rest of our lives? One step at a time, Lumina .

Twenty minutes later, the mech is working on Taylor’s hover and I’m wearing a delicate pink dress that fits like a glove. Although it wouldn’t have a week ago, I lost weight in that cave. I have her credit bracelet on my wrist and the invitation in my hand.

”Do you really think your plan for getting him out of there is going to work?” I ask.

“Unless they’ve changed their protocols? Yes.”

“Taylor, I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Taylor Vale from Antiqua. Look me up. I want an invite to your mating ceremony.”

Mating ceremony? Taylor’s way ahead of me. First, she reminds me I’m going to have to break him out. Now she’s got us mated already.

“You’ve got my head spinning,” I tell her, reeling from the idea of mating a male I’ve never actually had a conversation with.

“Lumina, the way you looked when you talked about him . . . well, when you talked about the good parts of him, I wouldn’t have to be a fortune teller to believe there’s going to be a mating in your future.”

After a heartfelt hug, I hover off. An hour later, I pull up to the facility. It looks like a maximum-security prison from vids about the olden days. There’s barbed wire surrounding the entire facility. Shit. How is this going to work?